Ruby Smokes
by CushionySiren3
Summary: Midterms loom larger than any Grimm over the heads of the Beacon students, and no one feels more out of their depth than Ruby Rose. With stress building and drama beginning to brew in her circle of friends Ruby has adopted a bad habit. Things may not stay the same in this slow, character driven piece.
1. Before it All

Ruby's eyes leaped between the board and her paper as she struggled to keep up with Oobleck's motor mouth. She was already two lines behind and her hand was cramping worse than her legs the first time she tried sprinting 100 miles. She'd been dreading this lecture all week and it was worse than she imagined. Her ears weren't even processing the information at this point, it was just a jumbled word salad being shoved into her ears by the fistfull.

And then the bell rang.

Ruby's eyes narrowed in horror. She whipped her head up to watch Oobleck take one last hearty swig. "That's all the time we have today class. Assignment 16 is due at the beginning of next class. Don't forget to buy a green book for your Midterm on the 23rd. You're dismissed." A chorus of sighs and gentle groans followed as the class began to pack up.

Ruby released her breath in a long exhausted sigh as the Professor began to erase the board, bottom to top. Ruby couldn't keep up, just thinking about her pain caused her to fall back by ten lines. There was nothing she could do except pack up and hope her study group could help fill in the blanks. She tossed her notebook and her pen into her bag and trudged out of class as quickly as she could.

Her eyes glazing over she couldn't have noticed the girl in the black and yellow scarf before she collided with her. It wasn't ugly, the two just staggered from the hit and jumped to apologies. There was no fanfare; nobody stopped to check on the two, and Ruby couldn't stop either. Once her apologies were dished out she kept moving on towards her next class.

Walking back and forth between classes and training exercises had probably become the worst part of her day. Every student on campus had been working themselves to the bone in preparation of midterms. The team captains were grinding those exposed bones to dust. Every student was tasked with turning in personal team evaluations on top of regular assignments, and leaders were expected to submit dossiers going into extensive detail about the capabilities of their roster along with a "playbook" containing no less than ten practiced combat strategies.

Ruby had been losing sleep, at least that's what the bags under her eyes said. The roar of footsteps filled the halls and numbed the young captain's ears. She gave a small grumble about coffee that even she couldn't hear.

* * *

"Ruby? Ruby?" Weiss' tired voice falling flat on her captain's ears. Weiss had been rather patient with her until now, but now Ruby was just pushing her buttons. "Ruby! Stop daydreaming!" She chided, holding her hand in front of Ruby's nose and snapping until she shot up like a spring.

"Huh?!" The short redhead snorted as she whipped her head back, Weiss recoiling at her surprise. Her response was immediately met with a barrage of _'shushes'_ and _'hushes'_. Weiss and Ruby recoiled in shame. The library had been packed tighter than a can of sardines for weeks. The intellectuals at Beacon were always outnumbered by the lunk-heads and that was horribly apparent when exam time came round. Those who struggled with the more technical or detail-oriented aspects flocked to the library for their every issue.

Which meant the regulars were cursed to be mired in with a load of morons.

Weiss gave a sigh as she slouched back in her chair. "Ruby, please focus."

"Sorry Weiss," Ruby muttered, doing her best to avoid another shush barrage. "I'm just a bit distracted today." The sentiment only half true. Naturally she had a lot on her mind, but the sun coming through a nearby window was trying to lure her into the land of dreams. She was being assaulted on all fronts, mental and physical.

"I told you this was a poor place to study." Ren's cool, pithy remark pointed straight at Ruby. Of course Ren had the foresight to predict the library would be crazier than Didney Land, but Ruby chose to overrule his warning.

Weiss gave him a glare but Ruby waved her off by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Ren's right, I thought things would clear up around now. Do you think it'd be better if we just headed back to the room? We still have time."

Blake sighs as she lays down her textbook and rubs at her eyes. "I don't think so. We won't be able to focus if we head back to the room. Plus, there's the Jaune and Nora problem."

Ren shakes his head. "Their study methods are... puzzling."

Ruby sighs as she sinks back in her chair. "It works for them I guess…" The thought trailing off as she remembers the six page paper Port assigned last week. That was just one of several essays due in the next couple weeks. Just the thought of sitting in front of a laptop for hours mindlessly plinking away at the keyboard made her back tense up. The familiar, slight, sharp, pain budding just between her shoulder blades.

Before it could eat anymore of her head Weiss' cool hand gripped Ruby's. "Are you okay?" Weiss' soft voice cutting through the mental quagmire like butter.

Ruby widened her eyes a bit and mustered a fake smile. "Yeah, I think I just need some fresh air." Ruby wasn't an especially convincing liar, but right now she was doing her best to dial back on talking about stress. Everyone was going through the same problem right now, and she wasn't looking for attention. "But umm, are we going to move?"

Blake, who had been flipping through notes up til now, glanced up at her. "Did you have any other suggestions? I'm open to ideas."

"Umm, how about the cafeteria?"

"It's going to be even louder in there." Ren sighed.

"We could try the cafe, the one by the student store, it's probably not too bad in there." Weiss looking between Ren and Blake. The two gave gentle hums that were almost completely masked by the buzz of everyone around them. It only took them a couple moments to consider.

"That works for me." Ren says.

"Agreed, I'll go ahead and see if I can find us a spot. And if we can't get one today we'll try again tomorrow." Blake threw her backpack over her shoulder. "I'll text you if I find a spot."

"Can you get me a frappuccino, even if you can't get a spot?" Weiss asked, holding out a credit card for Blake.

"Sure, talk to you soon." The black haired girl said with a small wave as she walked off.

"Thank you, Blake." Weiss chirped as she went back to packing her belongings.

"Thanks Blake," Ruby chimed as she leaned forward and began packing her things. Honestly, she was hoping there wouldn't be any spots. She wasn't lying when she told Weiss she needed some fresh air. A few moments ago it felt like she was about to start choking on her own tongue. Right now she wanted nothing more than a big breath of air and a solid bit of time where she could just recoup.

That was all she really wanted right now, was a brief moment of rest.

Rising up from her seat with Weiss she looked across the table to Ren. "Are you coming?"

"I'll wait to hear from Blake. Don't wait for me." Ren's eyes never leaving a textbook as he dragged a highlighter across a few lines of text.

"Okay, talk to you soon." Ruby said, trying to muster as much cheer as she could before following Weiss. Passing packed tables and working their way past the lines at the front reception desk they made it out into one of Beacon's many halls. The stained glass window panes filling in the walls certainly made the library's approach memorable.

"Ren was certainly sour today." Weiss said, glancing over at Ruby.

"You think? I thought he was just kind of stressed." Ruby's heart wasn't really in the right place for gossip, but once Weiss got going it was hard to shake her from the topic.

"Do you think it's about… you know?"

"You mean Jaune and Nora?"

"Shhh! Don't say it so loud!" Weiss throwing Ruby a look that said _'I'm taking this way too seriously'_. Or at least that was Ruby's interpretation. With a heavy sigh Weiss shook her head. "I just can't believe it."

"I don't know, I think it's okay. They're just spending some time together." Ruby shrugged.

"They're spending too much time together lately. Something's going on between those two."

Ruby gave a heavy sigh. "Maybe you're reading into it too much. I don't even think Nora likes Jaune like that." She really didn't feel like dealing with Juniper drama right now. She had to get back to work on her dossier soon. Whatever fictional love triangle Weiss was on about was none of her business.

"Hmm, you might be right." Weiss mumbled, a huge smirk growing across her face. "I think Nora could do better than Barf boy."

Ruby managed to fake another smile as she trudged alongside Weiss. That collision from earlier had actually bruised her shin and right now she was too preoccupied to work on healing it. The fifteen year old had just remembered another assignment she was woefully unprepared for.

Biting the inside of her cheek she held back another sigh.

* * *

 **Hey y'all, thanks for reading. I've had this story idea in mind for quite a while and it's well past time I release it.**

 **I wanna give a huge thank you to Winter1112 for helping me workshop the concept and for assisting me with editing and proofreading. Check out their stuff. If you can't find it here check over on AO3. Well, I hope you enjoyed and do stick around for future updates.**

 **Until next time, peace out.**

 **-CS**


	2. The Start of Something

"So then Jaune went for the dive kick, but he never saw the yardstick coming!" Nora cheers. She always attracted more than a few stares or glares around dinner, but Ruby had just learned to cope with it. Nora's stories always seemed a tad more grand when they were shouted anyhow. "Mister Blonde messed up the formula for Linear momentum on question seventeen! So then I took my shot; I grappled him into the butt smash and sent him packing with a perfect KO!"

"That's bunk!" Jaune said, the faint outline of the yardstick still imprinted across his face. "I hit you twice with the leg sweep at the start of that round!"

Nora gasped in exaggerated horror. "Jaune, you monster! You all heard it: Jaune takes his frustrations out on women!"

Yang snickers, "Only virtual women. A real one would kick his ass up and down the dorm." Yang and Nora let out an unrestrained burst of laughter while their more modest teammates gave a few chuckles. Nora, who'd been jumping between standing and leaping onto the bench, plopped right back down between Pyrrha and Jaune with a soft giggle. "So I take it your study sesh went well? No broken controllers or bones?"

"Not-a-one!" Nora cheered as she stabbed a fork into a tender red meatball. "Tomorrow we're going over Field Studies and I'm gonna whoop him again! Mister Blonde can't even tell the difference between Bark Fungus and Moss." Nora and Yang snickered to each other.

Ruby was still baffled Jaune and Nora got any work done playing games, but according to Pyrrha and Ren it all checked out. Somehow they managed to devise a system of punishments and rewards revolving around fighting games and study questions. Progress aside, Ren didn't support their methods.

Ruby threw a glance his way, Ren was sitting to Pyrrha's left in complete silence. He made it look like he was trying to eat and read,but Ruby's gut was giving her mixed signals. That's not to say her gut is any kind of authority on whether or not a person is pretending to read or not. In this specific instance though her stomach was probably on base or, at the very least, close to some kind hypothesis.

"Ruby!"

"Huh?!"

Ruby swiveled to Weiss who'd clearly been digging into her head with a little frumpy frown. "Can I have my hand back?" Ruby looked down and quickly unlaced her fingers from Weiss'.

"Oh, sorry." She said. The young brunette brushed her hand over her skirt a couple times. Ruby had been sweating profusely. Weiss always told her she didn't mind, but she knew it was gross to sweat all over her and ended up stepping away guilty.

"You okay, Sis?" Yang chimes.

"She's been spacing out all day." Weiss says as she rifles through her bag. Her voice packed thick with indignation.

"Hmm," Yang purrs, setting her lavender eyes on Ruby. "Gotta wonder what's goin' on inside that head of hers. Do you and Weiss have something in mind tonight, Sis? Gonna go over your oral tests?"

"Guh! Yang!" Ruby's whine received with a short chuckles and giggles from Jaune, Nora and Pyrrha. It was a poorly kept secret that everyone from Jaune to Penny loved a bit of schadenfreude at Ruby's expense. How could they not? Ruby always went red like a fire truck with every insinuation.

"Yang, keep your mind out of the gutter!" Weiss snapped. Naturally unamused by Yang's connotation that she and Ruby would be practicing spelunking late into the night. This led her to give Yang a swift, solid knock across the head with her text book. The Juniper members knew they were in for a show tonight.

Ruby on the other hand was less invested than Ren.

She let out a low sigh. Like a trail of ants, thoughts of midterms marched through her head. On and on and on, one assignment followed by another and another and another and another. She'd be working for days, and when she wasn't going to class, or working she'd need to practice formations. The playbook was riding on her and she'd only had a few strategies to show. They were a few months into the year and she was behind. She knew it.

The dry sigh that past her lips pulled up from her guts with a sharp tug. Dinner hadn't helped weight them in the slightest. She'd honestly come out feeling worse, she was going to end up wasting her plate. It wasn't bad food either, she enjoyed the seven and a half bites she took. It was savory, mildly sweet. Seven and a half bites was all she could take though. She wasn't craving anymore.

Why the hell did that make her sad?

"Ruby?"

"Hmm?" It was Weiss who broke her from thought again. She'd stopped arguing with Yang, at some point, to give her yet another scowl. "What?" Her tired response did her no good.

Weiss just groaned and rolled her eyes. The Juniper girls tried to stifle their snickers, but it was no use. Ruby had clearly missed something, pushing Weiss past her limit for the evening. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" The princess snapped, flipping her hair and strutting off.

"G'night Weissy!" Yang called to her, waggling her fingers in a posh wave and honeying her words just so she could rub it in a bit more.

"Alright, I think that's enough." Jaune waving Yang off, still smiling from a comeback Ruby must've missed.

"Now you say that?" Yang chuckled. "She's already cleared the exit."

Jaune simply chortled and trailed off into laughter. Nora and Pyrrha were chuckling along with him, so all Ruby pulled from this disaster of a dinner was that pretty much everyone enjoyed themselves. Except herself of course.

The rest of the conversation was a bit of a blur to Ruby. The young captain hardly said much the rest of the night. It wasn't a particularly long talk by any means. It just floated through Ruby's ears like lukewarm alphabet soup.

There was a mention of teasing here.

Modeling came up.

Her name.

Her name again.

Her name a third time.

' _Wait, what?!'_

Ruby snapped back to the conversation like a rubberband pulled to the limit. "Huh, what?!"

Yang smiled at Ruby; Jaune, Nora, and Pyrrha watching her from across the table with grins. "Tired?" Yang said, resting her chin in her palm. "You've been a bit spacey today."

Ruby looked at Yang and forced a smile. Glancing across at the others she did her best to make it look good. "Y-Yeah, I didn't get good sleep last night."

"Oh, don't worry about us." Pyrrha staring at Ruby with her calm, green eyes. "You don't need to stay on our behalf."

"You should go get some rest Ruby." Jaune added before Nora pushed him off the back of the bench.

"Exactly, a good night's rest will have you feeling better." The bombastic Ginger chirruped with a winning smile.

Ruby passed a small sigh under her breath and returned the smile. "You're right, I'm going to head up to bed." She stepped over the bench and looked back at them with her cheerful facade. "Goodnight, Nora, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Ruby!"

"Goodnight, see you in the morning."

"Goodnight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"…"

Ruby felt sickly. She could still feel their eyes on her as she left the table. Her own eyes glazed over as she stared at the plate of food she'd wasted. She stopped only to dump her wasted meal.

After that she pushed open the cafeteria doors and staggered out. Her head was pounding. She couldn't tell until she stepped out into the Autumn night but a headache had creeped in. The rush of cool air and the mild scent of dying leaves did nothing to help. The abrupt shift turned her head into a swamp.

Her thoughts swelled behind her eyes, pressing against the front of her skull like thick putrid fog. Between the pounding in her head and the growing murkiness there wasn't a chance she would have noticed the crack in the pavement. Her shoe caught it with a sharp scratch that woke her from her daze right before the fall.

It was a swift tumble. She landed on one wrist and her face with a pained wheeze. Right now she only had two thoughts. The first being _'Ow, that hurt'_. The second being _'I hope no one saw that.'_

"Oh my gosh!"

 _'Well crap',_ Ruby's cheeks beginning to flush with embarrassment. With a groan she started to pick herself up.

"Are you okay?" A girl asked as she came to Ruby's side. Looking up Ruby set her eyes on none other than the second-year rabbit Faunus; Velvet Scarlatina. They shared Oobleck's course, and she'd heard passing comments about her now and again, but they were only acquaintances at best. "Wait... I know you from somewhere." Velvet said, looking at Ruby curiously.

"Uhm, yeah, we share a class." Ruby still too flustered to be look her in the eye.

"Oh, sorry. I'm a bit distracted sometimes. Sorry if we've met before." Her voice sincere as she helped Ruby up. "Are you alright? That was a nasty spill."

"Y-yeah, yeah I'm okay." Ruby muttered.

Velvet, illuminated under the Fall moonlight, stared at her. "Are you really?"

...

* * *

 **Hey y'all, sorry for the late cross-post! I posted it to AO3 first but completely forgot to post it here because a few things have been going on. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, there's more to come.**

 **-CS**


	3. First Night Out

Chills coursed through Ruby as Velvet helped her over to a bench. Winter was only a couple months away, but the night air had already turned. Ruby felt rather privileged being born near the equator; she'd never known a truly cold day, but anything near freezing had her shivering.

"It is rather cold tonight?" Velvet says, sitting herself beside her red haired junior.

Ruby almost flinched. Velvet's voice punched straight through her mental fog. With a weak sigh she mumbled back,"Y-yeah, it's probably going to be a cold winter."

"Do you think it'll snow this year?"

"I-uh… Maybe. We do get hail around here some years." Ruby hugging herself, an uncomfortable smile at her lips. Her upperclassman clearly meant no harm yet the discomfort could not be shaken. Velvet offered to hear her out, but she couldn't lift words up her throat. She didn't want to sound whiny, but Ruby knew she'd get nowhere if she downplayed things.

"Ruby, are you alright? You look like you're going to be ill." Velvet leaning in, her tall ears drooping with her. First a bad fall, and now utter silence? The sweat building up under her sleeves and within her stockings was growing icy.

"N-no, I'm alright!" Ruby stammered, guilt mounting as she struggled to find the words. "I'm uh… I'm just kinda-"

"Stressed?" Velvet calmly plucking the word from her head. Ruby didn't respond right away, she froze up.

"Y...Yeah," The grumbled words stinging her throat. Velvet smiled politely and placed a hand on her shoulder. The young leader tensed suddenly. Velvet had taken her off guard. She quickly attempted to relax, but Velvet withdrew. Ruby was beginning to feel worse than before; every second of this encounter just grew worse than the last. "...Sorry."

"It's alright." Velvet's reply gentle. She took Ruby's awkward responses in stride. "We can all get a bit overwhelmed. If you don't care to talk about it now, we won't."

Ruby released her breath and looked to Velvet with a weak smile. "Thanks Velvet… I'm just… Not in the mood, I guess... maybe later."

There was a couple moments of silence before Velvet's smile stretched with new energy. "Ruby, I was going to see some friends just now-"

"Oh," Ruby perking up with new found guilt. "Sorry, if you have to go-"

"No, no," Velvet stopping her in her tracks with a shake of the head. "I want to ask if you'd like to join us for a bit. It'll be laid back, you'll fit in fine."

The rabbit Faunus had blind-sided Ruby. An invitation to a relaxed hangout was the furthest thing from her mind. It was an intimidating offer no matter how politely Velvet cut it; they were almost complete strangers. "Th-thanks Velvet, I uhm…"

' _I can't turn her down. She's been so nice.'_

"... Uh, I… I think I will join you." Ruby's smile half-hearted, Velvet perking up despite the apprehension.

"Great, and don't be nervous. This is just a casual get together, just… don't tell anyone, okay? We like to have our secrets." Velvet's smile never wavering for a moment.

"Uh, sure, no problem." Ruby giving her best cheerful face. "So, where are we going? I mean, like, which floor?"

Velvet gave a soft giggle, "Oh, we're not going inside."

"Hehehe… what?"

* * *

The hedge maze garden on the east side of campus was among the students' least liked. Most attribute it to the tall, bland hedges that created suffocatingly narrow paths. The first time Ruby heard of the place she immediately thought _'Wow that place sounds kinda terrible.'_ And now that she was following Velvet closely through the hedge maze she could say with confidence that she was completely right.

"We're almost there." Velvet said, barely glancing over her shoulder as she shimmied around an overgrown branch. The landscapers apparently didn't care for the maze either.

"Umm, Velvet." Ruby mumbled, following her senior's lead. "It's starting to get late."

"Don't worry about curfew, we won't get back too late." Her response full of cheer. Ruby wasn't exactly reassured given it was about ten minutes to curfew. Considering she was a guest Ruby stifled her worry and followed along. Velvet offered her a shoulder to stain with tears, so she at least owed her the favor of not whining into her ears the whole time.

True to her word, it wasn't more than thirty paces and a sharp turn before they reached their destination. Just past a large hole in the hedge, big enough that Ruby and her chaperone barely had to stoop, was a quaint getaway. Apparently, much to Ruby's dismay, the two girls were a tad late.

"Hey bunny," chirped an extravagantly dressed girl in a beret. Legs crossed she beamed up at the two from one of the gardens wood seated metal frame benches. "We've been waiting… who'd you bring?" The girl was clad in enough designer clothes and jewelry that Ruby could assume she was just as rich as Weiss. That wasn't even her most eye-grabbing feature, neither were the sunglasses she was wearing well past sunset.

What Ruby found her eyes locked on was the cigarette.

Gently pinched between her fingers. Her eyes could not escape it; a cigarette, tip burning a faint red, the ash at the end clouding the glow. Its thick, distinct scent filling the small retreat.

"This is Ruby, she's a friend; first year." Velvet said, voice soft as a melody as she hurried over to the girl with the shades and kissed her on the cheek. "Where's your pack?"

"In my purse." Velvet's friend said, the Faunus girl cuddling up to her side. Gently sliding a hand across the stranger's lap Velvet slipped her fingers into the girls handbag.

"So are we inviting anyone now?" Ruby pivoted, she felt their eyes needling her, but she didn't fully register them. Across the rectangular seclude was another bench where two more strangers sat. Well, one of them sat on the bench, the other sat on the ground beside the bench.

The both of them were also smoking.

They seemed familiar, but Ruby couldn't place a name to either face. The moonlight gave her a fairly good impression on the young man and lady. Just going off their sour expressions and the girls gaudy clothes they seemed to have been in a different league compared to Velvet's companion.

"We invited you, crabapple." Sunglasses girl snarked before turning her smile to Ruby. "I'm Coco, Velvet's my girlfriend."

' _Ruby, say words!'_

"Oh uhp- it's nice to meet you, I'm Ruby..." Ruby fumbling as she snapped herself back to reality. Unfortunately she snapped back so intensely that she repeated the introduction Velvet was so kind to give her.

Coco raised a gloved finger to her glasses and tilted them down. "Hmm," She looked Ruby up and down. "I like your skirt, very cute. You a goth?"

Ruby blushed and brushed at her hair. "No, I uh, just like the style I guess."

Coco giggled softly. "It fits."

Velvet shares in the giggling."We don't bite Ruby. Go on and have a seat next to Petunia."

"Really?" The girl in the dark purple pleather jacket groaned, glaring across at Velvet. "You're really not going to introduce us?"

"Oh please, you two can introduce yourselves. You're not children." Coco's refined air giving her response a nice sharp bite.

Smoke rising from her nearly exhausted cigarette the girl in the pleather jacket glared at Ruby. The bitter girl took a long drag off her cigarette before responding with a throaty grunt."Petunia,"

"Ignore her, she's a jackass." With a huff of gray the young man sitting on the grass climbed to his feet. "I'm Automne, nice to meet ya." He mumbled offering his hand for a shake, cigarette hanging limply between his lips.

' _He seems nice… but a bit greasy.'_ Ruby thought as she extended her hand. "Nice to meet you." Shaking his hand gently, the young man dressed in signs that screamed awkward and weird.

One hand scratching at his scruffy, dirty-blonde hair the boy plopped back down onto his original spot. While Ruby began to ponder why he was the only one still in his uniform the Petunia girl grunted for her attention.

"Hey," her gruff voice choked with smoke, she pulled a small pack from her jacket. In a couple small motions she took out a cigarette for herself and tilted the box towards Ruby. "Menthol hundreds, need one?"

"Uhh, I… I don't smoke." Ruby struggling to maintain the cool composure she was starting to sink into. Just going off the flat stare Petunia was giving her she probably just lost all the good will she earned. "Uhhm, I'm sorry, I think I'll… I'll go."

"No, Ruby stay! Petunia stop it!" Velvet snapped.

"Ignore her Ruby." Coco chimed in, blowing a cloud of smoke Petunia's way. "She's upset because she thinks someone screwed with her computer"

Petunia bolted up."Someone installed malware on my fuckin home system and I just upgraded- Ah shit!" The last part a bitter grumble as her fresh cigarette fell into the grass.

The boy snickered like a seagull. "She's always pissy, she'll cool down in a bit."

"Shut up you greasy, piss stained, stoner, virgin!" Petunia snapped.

"Hey I'm not a stoner!... Or piss stained!" Automne shouted, struggling to get to his feet. Across the small enclave Coco and Velvet snickered quietly between themselves as their two supposed friends grew more and more heated. Weary of the encroaching tussle Ruby skedaddled over to Velvet.

Leaning in she said softly, looking over her shoulder with a fair amount of caution. "Should we stop them?"

Velvet giggled softly as she pulled a cigarette away from her lips."No, let them get it out of their systems. It's best to enjoy the show sometimes." Once again Velvet's response didn't instill confidence. But Ruby was the outsider, so it was best to take her word.

"Ruby you've been standing this whole time. Here," Coco pulled Velvet closer, resting her thighs in her lap. With a grin she patted the narrow opening she made. "Sit with us. Don't bother with them. They're too rowdy tonight."

"Oh- ehm… thanks." Ruby says, slowly taking the seat. Her eyes flickered round from the two loud-mouths trying to throw each other into chokeholds to Velvet and Coco cuddling a few inches away. She probably looked more stiff than a board, certainly felt that way. Right now she was just trying not to take up too much room.

The hot smoke around her was flooding her nose. Tears burned in her eyes as whisps drifting on the breeze crossed her face. _'This was a bad idea. I shouldn't have come. This is just… weird.'_ Anxiety starting to crawl up the back of her neck, its pressure taking hold on her throat.

"Ruby,"

"Huh?!"

"I was just telling Coco you're the youngest first year, and you're a team captain." Velvet's smile inviting Ruby back to reality.

"That's impressive," Genuine enthusiasm heavy in Coco's voice. "I heard from a rumor Ozpin handpicked you."

"Y-yeah, I helped stop a robbery in the city." Ruby said.

Coco gave a light laugh. "Don't be modest, that's great. I haven't heard of anyone else being handpicked. Certainly more impressive than them." Coco tilting her head at the two rolling on the ground. "They're the worst team at Beacon."

"Team Tape, lowest ranked in the whole school and last place in the entrance ceremony." Velvet added. "They're first years too, but I wouldn't spend time with them during the day. You'll want to save face."

Ruby pulled a smile as she looked across at the brawling losers. "How'd they get in?"

"Apparently they did fine on the individual tests, but they just can't work together. If you ask me, I think they cheated their individual tests," Coco pulling out her pack as Velvet reaches the end of her first smoke.

' _Tests…'_

"So, d-do you think they're going to be able to finish their strategy book?" Ruby said trying to tilt the conversation her way. Unfortunately she was a little less subtle than she expected, given Coco immediately started giggling.

"I take it you're stumped for ideas?"

Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin. "Eh, how-"

A large smile on her face she looks over her glasses. Gazing straight into Ruby's watery eyes she says,"I'm a Team Captain too. If you need some ideas I can give you a couple tips." She pulls her head back as she gives a large yawn. "But not tonight."

Warmth filled Ruby's chest. In an instant Coco had pulled the weight crushing her lungs away. The young leader was astonished, lost for words she just gawked at her saviour with mouth ajar. Coco was too occupied to notice. With a weakening smile Coco patted Velvet on her rear. "Can you get up hun?"

"You two leaving?" Petunia said, holding Automne in a full Nelson.

"In a minute," Coco walking to Ruby with her Scroll out. "Let's exchange numbers."

Ruby hurried to pull out her Scroll, "Okay, let me-"

Coco gently tapped the back of her Scroll to Ruby's. With a gentle ping and a notification, Coco's information was transferred into her Scroll. "Relax." Coco smiling down to her. Shouldering her purse she looks over to Velvet. "Ready to go?"

"Mhmm," She hums, setting her cigarette at the edge of the bench. She didn't get halfway through it. "I'm sorry about Petunia and Automne, maybe we can spend some time together without those two."

"You two still owe me!" The scruffy boy coughed. Dirt smeared across his cheek he pulled out a small tin bottle from his jacket and started spraying himself with cologne. He was a good ten feet away, but Ruby felt like she was just blasted in the face with fruit pulp.

"Stop whining. We'll pay you by Saturday." Coco scoffed at him and looked back to Ruby one more time. "See ya around, Red."

Ruby watched her and Velvet step out of the hole with a bit of melancholy.

"Hey, Ruby, catch." Ruby turned just in time to catch Automne's cheap cologne can. "You're gonna smell like smoke, spray yourself." Automne grumbled, joints crackling as he stretched his arms.

"Oh uh, thanks." She hadn't even considered the smell. The thought of smelling like a smoothie store exploded wasn't even slightly appealing. But if it came down to fruit pee or cigarette smoke it was no contest. Spritzing her chest Ruby's eyes fell down to Velvet's cigarette.

It was starting to smolder.

"Hey, I need that back."

"Oh, sorry." Ruby bumbling over her words as she tossed the can back at Automne.

"Thanks, see ya." He grumbled before trudging out, Petunia following right behind him.

Ruby was a bit lost. She looked back to the cigarette. It burned out.

* * *

 **Hey everyone sorry for the delays, life's been a bit tough as of late. For all of you that have been waiting for updates I owe you a sincere apology and a thank you for sticking with me. There's more to come, I'm juggling too many stories right now, but this one is high on the priority list. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **-CS**


	4. Cold Morning

Frost had formed over the window panes during the night. Chilled air had been bleeding through the glass for hours and not even dawn scared it off. Ruby held her sheets tightly as she waited to clean up. Blake was the first to rise so she'd be the first one to soak up all the hot water. Ruby didn't mind, she usually took this time to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Just not today.

Last night was still in her mind. As hard as she tried she couldn't stop thinking about it. They were virtually strangers, but they'd imprinted their faces into her head. And the smell, she'd never forget it. She could still feel it in her nose.

The whole way back she dreaded the thought of Yang or Weiss catching the scent on her clothes. Even if she didn't join in on the revelry she could still expect a stern lecture. Fortunately for the young leader, Weiss had retired early for the night. Yang was still awake to greet her sister, yet, she was too enthralled with her Scroll for much else. From Ruby's return to when she managed to fall asleep nearly an hour later, Yang had barely taken her eyes off the small screen.

Ruby considered this to be a gift straight from the quarries. The blonde's obliviousness let Ruby slip her clothes into her sheets. She hoped her natural scent might be able to cover-up the stink of the smoke.

Odor aside Ruby wasn't exactly looking forward to today. Her dreams were a strange mess of odd imagery and unpleasant conversations. And once the alarm pierced her ears and the cold air hit her skin she knew it was going to be another day of drowning in work.

She clutched her blankets tighter to her chest. It barely seemed worth it to get out of bed. Her neck and shoulders tensed. Dull pain formed all throughout her torso. It trailed down her spine. Her nerves squirmed into thick lumps. Every thin strand of muscle picked up the slow current and carried the pain down. Her legs trembled, the girl was under sheets and a hefty quilt, but she couldn't keep the cold out.

"Ruby, you up?" Yang said. Across the room she stretches her legs, dressed in her light gym clothes.

Ruby wheezed out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm awake."

"You didn't set your snooze. We goin' for our jog?"

Ruby cringed. She'd forgotten again. "Umm, no thanks. I-I'm not feeling good today." Ruby working her hardest to pass it off as grogginess.

"You coming down with something?" The blonde, buxom girl strided over to her sister's bunk. Gently gripping the edge of the bedframe Yang reached up; pushing aside clumps of red-tipped hair she held the back of her fingers to Ruby's forehead. Her hands were warm, she had just limbered up but of course Yang was always warm.

Ruby's skin… well, she couldn't even parce her temperature through the layer of static. It sat right under her skin like a vibrating layer of insulation. She almost felt numb.

"I don't think you have a fever." Yang's face contorting with confusion.

"You dullard," Weiss snapped. Her voice came clear from the blue. Ruby couldn't even tell she was there. She had forgotten Weiss entirely, she didn't mean to lose her in the haze, it just happened. "You can't tell if someone has a fever with your fingers."

"I'm just checking, frost-face." Yang says, looking over Ruby's face more carefully. "Didn't your mom ever check your temperature like that?

Weiss was typically quick to reply, but she stuttered. Ruby didn't make out her muttering. In the time she'd known Weiss Ruby learned fast that a Schnee was collected and poised at all times. To the best of her knowledge, stammering didn't fall under the definition of poise. "Yes… but it doesn't always work. She could still have a fever."

"I know, but she doesn't feel hot." Yang replied, still standing on her toes to get a better look at ruby. "… is it your cycle?"

"No, I'm just- just, have a headache… I didn't sleep well."

"You were out late." Weiss chimed in again. Coming around the end of the bed Ruby caught the girl in her silver eyes. The white haired girl looked so snooty in her big fluffy bathrobe. The thing probably weighed ten pounds. "I thought you were coming back with Yang. You missed curfew; where were you?"

Ruby choked. Up until now she assumed Weiss had settled in before the rest of the team came back. She scrambled for a reply through her mental haze. "She decided to take a walk." Yang replied in Ruby's place. "She wasn't out super late. She got back right after you fell asleep."

Ruby stayed silent, Weiss was looking at her. Ruby drew a short breath, she was in no state to make her own lie. She could feel the strands of muscle in her arms tighten as she sat herself up in bed. "Yeah, I… I didn't mean to stay out late. I was… I lost track of the time."

"You let your Scroll die, didn't you?" Yang gave a heavy sigh. "You gotta start charging it more. You kill the battery playing games with it."

"I know." Ruby grumbled, swinging her legs over the ledge and hopping down. Her body shuddered.

"And it's unhealthy too, you need to keep a consistent sleep schedule." Weiss piling it on as she walks back to the bathroom door. "You only have so much time in a day. And that means you too Blake! You've been in there long enough!" Weiss snaps, rapping the back of her hand against the door.

Ruby gave a small sigh and made her way over to the closet on the opposite side of the room. "Maybe you should go rest in the nurse's office after breakfast." Yang's voice joining in with the sound of the door hinges.

"No, I have early classes today." Ruby sifted through her quarter of the closet. It was a packed space, even with their casual clothes stowed in their luggage. And with morning crust in her eyes she struggled to differentiate between Weiss' uniforms and her own. Apart from the bust Weiss' uniform was a near perfect fit, but she'd still get reamed out if Weiss realized she'd stretched her clothes.

"You're not gonna be able to focus if you're not feeling well."

"Yang, I'm fine. I'll feel better after breakfast." Ruby glanced back to Yang and pulled off a smile.

It clearly didn't do much to allay her sister.

"Finally!" Weiss whined from across the room as Blake pulled the door open. A fat cloud of steam followed the raven haired girl out. Ruby felt her body relax slightly as the heat diffused into the room along with the scent of fruity soap. Strands of dark hair poked out from beneath the checkered towel wrapped tight on Blake's head. "You didn't turn on the fan?"

"You like it steamy." Blake replied simply. Her simple slippers clapped lightly against the floor as she made her way over to the closet. "Excuse me," She said softly as she nudged in past Ruby. "I need to grab my clothes."

"Sorry Blake," Ruby clumsily backstepping out of her way.

"It's fine." Blake was always a bit curt, mornings only worsened it. Only a cup of tea and a bagel with cream cheese could ease the frumpy girl. Today it looked like she needed two glasses of Earl Grey.

"Sis," Yang says. "You still wanna come for a jog? It might help you wake up."

"Umm no thanks, you can go on without me. I'm not feeling up to it today." Ruby's cheeks were pinched into a tight smile.

Yang paused for a second. Her lavender eyes looked Ruby up and down before she returned a smile of her own. "Okay, I'm gonna go around the school once or twice. You don't need to rush on your shower, my first class isn't till ten."

"Thanks, Yang." Ruby cheers. "Don't forget your sport bottle!"

Yang gave a short giggle as she skipped to one of the desks and grabbed a large water bottle with a lanyard clipped to it. "Almost did! See you later!" A mirthy lilt in her voice as she bounced out of the room with a wave.

Ruby's smile managed to endure for a minute more until she turned back to Blake. Her cheeks immediately flushed as she took in, a frankly flattering, view of her full frontal nude figure. Blake had dropped her robe while Ruby was distracted. Blake immediately noticed, she didn't flinch. Didn't even pause, her yellow eyes skittered to her and she said, "Don't stare."

Ruby thought it best to say nothing, Blake likely agreed. It didn't even seem worth it to apologize. Blake was more focused with putting on underwear anyhow, so the young leader sought to distract herself. Hurrying away, to the other side of the room, bare feet pattering against the ground she picked up enough speed to jump up to Weiss' bed.

Making a foothold on the mattress she got on eye level with her bunk. Pushing aside the blankets in a hurry she uncovered her clothes from last night. It was difficult to tell what her clothes smelled like. The guy's fruity body spray was barely noticeable at this point, and the smell of smoke was likely snuffed as well. She gave a small sigh, just the sight of that stupid jacket warped her memories and thoughts back around towards classes.

Here she was sleeping in and chatting the morning away. So caught up in lying to her Yang and Weiss that she forgot what she even had on schedule for today. Due dates and exams were only a few weeks away.

Ruby's back tensed and contorted as she pulled in a breath. _'I don't know…'_


End file.
